Tricia Spence
Walk 5 Ways
Fundraising for Medecins Sans Frontieres / Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
Story
UPDATE
Well, I made it!
I've got to THE END and finished what I set out to do. After walking for 4 months, 5 days, covering 3177km and an accumulated height gain of 42000+ m, through 5 countries, UK, Netherlands, Belgium, France and Spain, from the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean at Finisterre. My feet are killing me, I will admit it!!!! But I walked because I wished to.
I've got to THE END and finished what I set out to do. After walking for 4 months, 5 days, covering 3177km and an accumulated height gain of 42000+ m, through 5 countries, UK, Netherlands, Belgium, France and Spain, from the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean at Finisterre. My feet are killing me, I will admit it!!!! But I walked because I wished to.
I reflect again on how, unlike many people forced to walk, I always had shelter, food and the right clothes for all the weather conditions I experienced, I could make myself understood, was made to feel welcome by most people and helped in many ways.
Thanks to all of you who have supported me in this endeavor and for your donations to Medecins sans Frontieres to help them aid victims of violence, hunger, war, disaster, illness, poverty, exclusion and crisis.
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
My name is Tricia, a.k.a Nanna Tuu, the walking granny. Well, actually, I’m the author of “Nanna Tuu and the bird that hurt its wing”, which is a children’s story about an old(ish!) woman that has always loved to walk and her life changes when she meets the bird that hurt its wing.
Like Nanna Tuu, I’ve always loved to walk but family, home, work (I’m sure you know that story) never let me get too far. Now that I’m retired and family’s grown and flown, my horizons have grown, too. Walking gives me the chance to explore those horizons, to visit new places with time enough to see real life and share experiences with real others on my way.
And like Nanna Tuu, I’m still learning about life. One day, many years ago, whilst out walking, I got chatting to a shepherd and his dogs who were herding a huge flock of thousands of sheep. They had walked 800 kilometres to get to their summer grazing grounds. At the end of the summer, he was going to walk 800 kilometres to get home. Years later, that shepherd still comes to mind and I often think about his “walk” and with time I’ve gradually realised that, though there are, like me, a lot of people who love to walk, there are many more people in the world who walk not for pleasure but because they have to, and also many people who would love to walk but can’t.
This walk, 3000 kms across 5 countries, is dedicated to all those people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare. MSF helps these people with medical assistance, guided by principles of impartiality, independence and neutrality. Let's help them to do that. Thank you for your generosity and support.